Great Throughts Treasury

"O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word, and ordained man through thy wisdom, that he should have dominion over the creatures which thou hast made, and order the world according to equity and righteousness, and execute judgment with an upright heart: give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne; and reject me not from among thy children: for I thy servant and son of thine handmaid am a feeble person, and of a short time, and too young for the understanding of judgment and laws. For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded."

"O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labor with me, that I may know what is pleasing unto thee. For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and she shall lead me soberly in my doings, and preserve me in her power. So shall my works be acceptable, and then shall I judge thy people righteously, and be worthy to sit in my father?s seat. For what man is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of the Lord is? For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable, and our devices are but uncertain. For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things. And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth, and with labor do we find the things that are before us: but the things that are in heaven who hath searched out? And thy counsel who hath known, except thou give wisdom, and send thy Holy Spirit from above? For so the ways of them which lived on the earth were reformed, and men were taught the things that are pleasing unto thee, and were saved through wisdom."

"One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth."

"Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee."

"She delivered the righteous people and blameless seed from the nation that oppressed them. She entered into the soul of the servant of the Lord, and withstood dreadful kings in wonders and signs; rendered to the righteous a reward of their labors, guided them in a marvellous way, and was unto them for a cover by day, and a light of stars in the night season; brought them through the Red sea, and led them through much water: but she drowned their enemies, and cast them up out of the bottom of the deep. Therefore the righteous spoiled the unGodly, and praised thy holy name, O Lord, and magnified with one accord thine hand, that fought for them. For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of them that cannot speak eloquent."

"She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her."

"She preserved the first formed father of the world, that was created alone, and brought him out of his fall, and gave him power to rule all things. But when the unrighteous went away from her in his anger, he perished also in the fury wherewith he murdered his brother. For whose cause the earth being drowned with the flood, wisdom again preserved it, and directed the course of the righteous in a piece of wood of small value. Moreover, the nations in their wicked conspiracy being confounded, she found out the righteous, and preserved him blameless unto God, and kept him strong against his tender compassion toward his son."

"She prospered their works in the hand of the holy prophet. They went through the wilderness that was not inhabited, and pitched tents in places where there lay no way. They stood against their enemies, and were avenged of their adversaries. When they were thirsty, they called upon thee, and water was given them out of the flinty rock, and their thirst was quenched out of the hard stone. For by what things their enemies were punished, by the same they in their need were benefited. For instead of a perpetual running river troubled with foul blood, for a manifest reproof of that commandment, whereby the infants were slain, thou gavest unto them abundance of water by a means which they hoped not for: declaring by that thirst then how thou hadst punished their adversaries."

"So he overcame the destroyer, not with strength of body, nor force of arms, but with a word subdued him that punished, alleging the oaths and covenants made with the fathers. For when the dead were now fallen down by heaps one upon another, standing between, he stayed the wrath, and parted the way to the living. For in the long garment was the whole world, and in the four rows of the stones was the glory of the fathers graven, and thy Majesty upon the daidem of his head. Unto these the destroyer gave place, and was afraid of them: for it was enough that they only tasted of the wrath."

"Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all."

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold."

"Seek not death in the error of your life: and pull not upon yourselves destruction with the works of your hands. For God made not death: neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living. For he created all things, that they might have their being: and the generations of the world were healthful; and there is no poison of destruction in them, nor the kingdom of death upon the earth: for righteousness is immortal. But unGodly men with their works and words called it to them: for when they thought to have it their friend, they consumed to nought, and made a covenant with it, because they are worthy to take part with it."

"Riches taken by wrong-doing do no good, but doing what is right and good saves from death."

"Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for stern as death is Love, relentless as the nether world is devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench Love, nor floods sweep it away, were one to offer all he owns to purchase Love, he would be roundly mocked."

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

"Start with God - the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning."

"Surely vain are all men by nature, who are ignorant of God, and could not out of the good things that are seen know him that is: neither by considering the works did they acknowledge the workmaster; but deemed either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the violent water, or the lights of heaven, to be the Gods which govern the world. With whose beauty if they being delighted took them to be Gods; let them know how much better the Lord of them is: for the first author of beauty hath created them. But if they were astonished at their power and virtue, let them understand by them, how much mightier he is that made them."

"Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words."

"The fear of the Lord makes life longer, but the years of the sinful will be cut off."

"The fool shows his annoyance at once, but a wise man ignores an insult."

"The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it."

"So that there reigned in all men without exception blood, manslaughter, theft, and dissimulation, corruption, unfaithfulness, tumults, perjury, disquieting of good men, forgetfulness of good turns, defiling of souls, changing of kind, disorder in marriages, adultery, and shameless uncleanness. For the worshipping of idols not to be named is the beginning, the cause, and the end, of all evil."

"The good that comes from the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow to it."

"The fire had power in the water, forgetting his own virtue: and the water forgot his own quenching nature. On the other side, the flames wasted not the flesh of the corruptible living things, though they walked therein; neither melted they the icy kind of heavenly meat that was of nature apt to melt. For in all things, O Lord, thou didst magnify thy people, and glorify them, neither didst thou lightly regard them: but didst assist them in every time and place."

"The hope of those who are right with God is joy, but the hope of the sinful comes to nothing."

"The insight of a man certainly slows down his anger, and it is beauty on his part to pass over transgression."

"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."

"The lips of those who are right with God feed many, but fools die for want of understanding."

"The master and the servant were punished after one manner; and like as the king, so suffered the common person. So they all together had innumerable dead with one kind of death; neither were the living sufficient to bury them: for in one moment the noblest offspring of them was destroyed. For whereas they would not believe anything by reason of the enchantments; upon the destruction of the firstborn, they acknowledged this people to be the sons of God. For while all things were in quiet silence, and that night was in the midst of her swift course, Thine Almighty word leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction, and brought thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and standing up filled all things with death; and it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth."

"The lips of those who are right with God speak what is pleasing to others, but the mouth of the sinful speaks only what is bad."

"The Lord will not let those who are right with Him go hungry, but He puts to one side the desire of the sinful."

"The mouth of those who are right with God flows with wisdom, but the sinful tongue will be stopped."

"The mouth of the one who is right with God is a well of life, but the mouth of the sinful hides trouble."

"The one who talks much will for sure sin, but he who is careful what he says is wise."

"The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty."

"The pay earned by those who are right with God is life, but the sinful are paid by being punished."

"The riches of a rich man are his strength, but the need of the poor is what destroys them."

"The righteous eat to their hearts? content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry."

"The strange woman is any woman you have not married, which makes her an alien and foreigner to your bed. Instead of this fatally dangerous woman, a man should be satisfied and ravished with his wife's body and love, and together they should build a legitimate and happy family, for God closely watches such."

"The tongue of those who are right with God is like fine silver, but the heart of the sinful is not worth much."

"The virtuous woman is honored, loved, blessed, and praised. Husband and children adore her. She loves them dearly, creates a perfect home, and contributes to a prosperous family estate. She outworks her peers, and her accomplishments enhance her husband's reputation and declare her superiority to all."

"The way of the Lord is a strong-place to those who are faithful, but it destroys those who do wrong."

"The perfect woman to marry can be found. Ignore beauty and favors of women to seek one spiritual and one natural trait. Great women exist, and one properly selected will provide lifelong blessing and influence future generations. Here are two fool-proof traits, and both sexes should learn them well."

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."

"The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends."

"The whorish woman is a grave threat to every man that wants to be wise and righteous. She will reduce him to a piece of bread and seek to destroy his life. Solomon knew by experience, and he considered her worse than death. Only a few ever recover from her wiles, and then only by God's grace. Get far away from her now!"

"The wise in heart will receive teaching, but a fast talking fool will become nothing."

"The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."

"Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labors. When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for. And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, This was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach: We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honor: How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints! Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us."

"The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor."